Out of all the mischaracertizations, malfeasance, hidden agendas, outright lies, and sheer ignorance behind Lil Nas X’s viral hit “Old Town Road” and its disputed place in the country genre, perhaps the most idiotic and out-of-touch development of them all has been this ludicrous notion that Billy Ray Cyrus is in any way relevant to country music in 2019.

Yes, Mr. Achy Break Heart—who hasn’t charted in the Top 50 in country music in over 10 years—has just teamed up with Lil Nas X on a remix of “Old Town Road” in hopes that anyone, for the love of God, will give him attention. And beyond the track being as terrible as you can imagine, Billy Ray Cyrus’s involvement probably doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, aside from media looking at this as bountiful click-bait with plenty of politically-motivated threads to intertwine.

Just how irrelevant is Billy Ray Cyrus? His 2016 record, Thin Line, sold a grand total of 700 copies upon its release, and debuted at #49 on the Billboard Country Albums chart. To put that into context, John Prine’s latest record debuted with 53,000 copies sold, and Jason Isbell’s with 51,000. Billy Ray’s 2017 album, Set The Record Straight, sold so few copies, it fell below the threshold to even be reported for sales at all, even with streaming equivalents. The 1.55 million Twitter followers of Billy Ray Cyrus didn’t give a damn enough about the record to even collectively purchase a sum total of 300 copies so we would know how many copies got sold. There are college students in coffee shops peddling acoustic records with better sales than Billy Ray Cyrus.

But there is a very important footnote about this Lil Nas X/Billy Ray Cyrus remix that plays very deeply into the discussion of how Billboard selects certain artists and songs for placement on its respective genre charts.

The crux of the argument of why it was racist for Billboard to remove Lil Nas X from the country charts is based around the idea that no other artist has been removed from the country charts before, including artists from outside the genre or with similar hip-hop styled beats behind their songs. Nor has anyone ever called for such an action, or at least this is the claim being made by the majority of media. Then when an artist was removed, it happened to be a black man, which is how you get to the claims of racism.

But like virtually every other element of this story, these media-born assertions are patently untrue, and are the result of sheer ignorance with the history of country music, and with the current events in the genre.

First, there is another instance of an artist being excluded from Billboard’s country charts. In 2016 Green River Ordinance was refused inclusion on the Billboard Country Albums chart, even though they were much more country than many of the chart’s current entries, and had filled out their genre metadata to be considered country, just like Lil Nas X did. So it was not an African American artist who was first refused to be included on Billboard’s country charts, it was a string band full of white guys from Texas.

Also, even though it was never removed, Bebe Rexha’s song “Meant To Be” was strongly opposed for the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart by many in country music since it wasn’t from a country artist, and didn’t sound country. Nonetheless, it sat for a record 50 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart without Billboard taking action. Saving Country Music alone posted multiple articles opposing the inclusion of “Meant To Be” on the country charts. Here’s nine of these articles dedicated specifically to the subject:

So saying that nobody had a problem with any song being placed on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart until Lil Nas X came along is just untrue. But what does any of this have to do with Billy Ray Cyrus releasing a remix of “Old Town Road” with Lil Nas X? It actually has a lot to do with it.

Back in February of 2014, Billy Ray Cyrus released a remix of his infamous country music hit “Achy Breaky Heart” called “Achy Breaky Heart 2” in collaboration with a rapper named Buck 22. Similar to “Old Town Road,” popularity for the track was born not on consumption or radio play, but as an internet meme. Similar to Rebecca Black’s “Friday” and other notorious viral songs, “Achy Breaky 2” shot up the charts because people were hate listening the track and lampooning it. This resulted in the song debuting at #11 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart, and #16 on the Streaming Songs chart. And hip-hop fans and the media covering the genre were livid.

Sean Fennessey writing for Grantland said “Achy Breaky 2” was symptomatic of rap being pulled down by influences from outside the genre. Does this sound familiar at all, country music fans?

Last week, the fastest-rising addition to Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart was neither a rap song, nor a hot song. It had been released just a week prior, and there was rapping. But Buck 22’s “Achy Breaky 2” … bears none of the hallmarks of the genre. It is, however, remarkable in that it is remarkably bad… [It] is emblematic of a genre in disrepair. It is an abomination, or, at least, a practical joke inflicted upon an unwitting public.

Buck 22 has arrived at a time when rap is more vulnerable than ever to interlopers and synthesists eager to run their sound through the Vitamix of popular music with such speed and force it’s impossible to determine the ingredients. “Achy Breaky 2” is a copy of a copy of a Xerox of a guy’s ass. It’s juvenile, and we’ve seen it before. But the quickness with which it grew makes me wonder whether it’s more than a novelty song.

“Achy Breaky 2” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus had hip-hop in the throes of the same existential concerns that country music is currently in, just not as pronounced due to the lack of charges of racism. Nonetheless, it illustrates how the concerns about Lil Nas X’s inclusion on the country charts is not specifically a country problem. In fact similar discussions commonly swirl when pop songs get included on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart, pushing artists who more purely represent the genre down a notch. Songs by Iggy Azalea and others have been harshly criticized for being considered rap as opposed to pop by Billboard.

The other universal element is how these songs come to prominence. With “Achy Breaky 2,” its popularity was based off of people listening to laugh at it. With Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” it’s popularity is based off of 30 second videos made on the smartphone app Tik-Tok. The truth is that it’s fair to ask if either of these songs and others like them should be considered for genre charts at all. Billboard does have indexes to deal with viral songs, and streaming trends. And the purpose of the pop charts is to cover the music that is “popular,” and may not fit specifically into any genre category perfectly.

The next question everyone has is if this Billy Ray Cyrus remix will have Billboard reconsidering their stance with “Old Town Road” being eligible for the Hot Country Songs chart. This remains to be seen, but if they reverse course on their genre distinction, the remix will only be a cover, with any switch being more about alleviating pressure from the public about the song’s removal.

Country charts are for country artists, and hip-hop charts are for hip-hop artists. And whether it’s Billy Ray Cyrus charting in hip-hop, or Lil Nas X charting in country, it adversely affects the intention of these charts to highlight songs from artists dedicated to these musical art forms releasing subsnative, meaningful efforts. Let the pop charts handle popular songs that defy description or genre. That’s what they’re there for.

As the media continues to make this Lil Nas X story white vs. black, and hip-hop vs. country to divide people for clicks, fans from both sides see the value in highlighting the best from specific genres on the respective genre charts as opposed diluting them with genre-blending pop songs and viral memes that barely qualify as music in the first place. Music fans across genre lines stand as brothers and sisters in arms against the gross homogenization of popular culture brought on by pop songs and viral media, and the idiocy disguised as evolution and diversity that would make every popular American song sound exactly the same.

96 Comments

Joshua
April 5, 2019 @
6:37 pm

I get why Billy Ray did this. I get why Lil Nas X marketed his song towards country. I get the arguments saying way include Sam Hunts garbage and not this in the country charts. That’s all fine. Now where can we constructively critise this song on it’s “country” merits as a country song? It’s all fine and dandy calling it a country song then it deserves the same calling out all the other pop country songs get called out for. That’s fair.

“Old Town Road” is complete shit as a song. It’s not a song, it’s a meme, and doesn’t belong on any chart, unless it’s a chart for memes and other viral media. If people find it fun, more power to them. I’m not interested in taking anyone’s joy away. But the fact that you have otherwise intelligent critics and journalists willing to lie and jeopardize all of their credibility simply for this song’s right to be country is all the verification you need that true musical criticism is dead.

I must be out of the loop. This song and the nonsense surrounding it are somehow related to Red Dead Redemption 2? That’s news to me and also unfortunate, as that game is a piece of pure art. I don’t give a shit what anyone says about video games. I love westerns and RDR2 is one of the very best of any medium I’ve ever experienced.

As soon as they officially release the soundtrack, I probably will either review or feature it, but they’ve been dragging their feet to a curious degree. Last note I saw was a spring release. It’s April 6th and no official word.

Methinks that the sheer number of compositions (both instrumental and lyrical) that the game featured would amount to a massive release that Rockstar Games perhaps sees little reason to try and put out. After all, we’re conceivably talking about dozens of tracks for a video game that a player can sink hundreds of hours into. There are some uploads on YouTube of the soundtrack that are incomplete, even with around 50 tracks.

But Rockstar is also known for copious delays (their games NEVER drop on the original projected date — RDR2, for instance, was pushed completely out of 2017 after a few different dates were announced), so it could very well be coming at some point.

Otherwise intelligent? Not even close to being intelligent. Smart and intelligent are not the same thing.
Intentional stirring of controversy is smart, monetarily- intelligent would be not intentionally mis-characterizing anything.
Billy Ray Cyrus is a meme and caricature of smart but not intelligent. Typical of self centered idiots.

“When I got thrown off the charts, Waylon Jennings said to me, ‘Take this as a compliment,’ means you’re doing something great! Only Outlaws are outlowed. Welcome to the club. “ – Billy Ray and what he said to Lil Nas X.

Billy Ray drops Waylon’s name whenever he can, and I severely question his credibility with these quotes. I think it’s just one of the many embellishments people are throwing out there to bolster their case as truth and reason falter.

Here’s one Waylon quote I know is true, because it comes directly from Waylon’s biography.

“You never know where the stones you throw will land. One time, I was at an awards show, and I heard a voice behind me saying “Mr. Jennings, you’re like a god to me.” I turned around and it was Billy Ray Cyrus, offering his hand for me to shake. All I could think of was, if I’m your god, what does your devil look like?”

There’s nothing in that quote that I would take as Waylon being negative toward Billy Ray Cyrus. It’s simply Waylon, being the Waylon of “Trouble Man”:
“I was so ugly, the doctor slapped my momma when I was born/
Then he took out his pocket knife and cut off my horns.”

Waylon probably tweaked BRC harder in “Living Legends, Part 2”:
“Now Billy Ray keeps right on dancin’/ Outta tune and outta time/
He drives Bubbas up the wall/ And girls out of their minds.”

But I wouldn’t take that all to hard either. Waylon, was an entertainer. He said what he was feeling–or what he thought “worked”–in the moment. He might make fun of Billy Ray one moment, and have a laugh with him, another.
Heck, Waylon even feuded with Willie at times. They seemed to have been on the outs (unfortunately) at the time of Waylon’s death.

I don’t think the line from the biography takes away from what he said to Billie at all. Now I’m not defending Billie by any means but he is hardly the only person who names drops Waylon. It’s basically a country tradition.

Billy Ray Cyrus is a hack who’s never made good music, and this whole controversy is very silly and dumb, but I will say this: I found his contribution to that Lil Nas X remix kinda funny, which makes it officially the first thing he’s ever done that I’ve actually liked. It’s not enough for me to forgive him for all that other shit, but at least he finally, after a twenty-year career, found a way to put some sort of smile on my face. Congratulations, I guess.

John you know nothing about this guy and his music instead of just formulating an opinion and jumping on the hating bandwagon because you’re ficklin force-fed you can’t think for yourself why dont you go to listen to his back catalogue first, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

I know Billy Ray was friends with Waylon and is friends with Shooter and over the years he has had a few good songs, but everytime I try to like him, even a little, he does something beyond stupid like this. He had zero credibility.

I have a sneaking suspicion that Billboard is not going to change much here.

If they caved in and allowed the Billy Ray remix to enter the Country charts it would vindicate and prove them “right” that country music is supposedly racist. It would all be downhill from there, so I feel like they aren’t interested in going in that direction.

It is concerning though that iTunes is ranking it as a country song, though I have to wonder if that is even going to matter in the grand scheme of things.

As Eugene Lawrence pointed out to me on Twitter, if they add either this Billy Ray Cyrus remix, or the upcoming Jake Owen collaboration to the charts now, that basically will verify for many that it was only race why Billboard removed the song from the chart in the first place, because now they’re only adding it because a white artist is on the track. The people up in arms about this would not see this as a victory, they would go after Billboard even harder.

I don’t think Billboard will make a move. Their interests lie with Music Row, and if they cut that cable, it would be disastrous for the publication. That said, I still feel like this is just the beginning of this story. There are scores of radicalized entertainment media types that see this is an opportunity to stick a dagger in the heart of what they see as a bastion of conservative values. However they are a loud, but small minority. The majority doesn’t see this as a country song. They’re just too afraid to speak up because they’ll be called racists. Right now it’s Saving Country Music against the world. There’s been some 25 articles written about this topic just today. Mine is the only one truly offering a critical viewpoint on the song.

Trig – I heard your name dropped (and mispronounced?) and SCM mentioned in an NPR broadcast yesterday morning on a radio at work, and the whole tone, at least to me, was YOU’RE the racist reason this got pulled (don’t you wish you had that power?)

They were all so “calm and rational” sounding, but all I could think of was your earlier posting about the concerted effort to homogenize music and divide folks.

As Waylon allegedly said to BRC: “You must be doing something right…” 😋

I will address this soon. I know folks are getting tired of hearing about this story, but I feel an obligation to set the record straight with so much misinformation out there, especially when my name is evoked, mispronounced, delivered as a pejorative, while liars are given a platform on a radio network we all pay for.

There’s nothing in that quote that I would take as Waylon being negative toward Billy Ray Cyrus. It’s simply Waylon, being the Waylon of “Trouble Man”:
“I was so ugly, the doctor slapped my momma when I was born/
Then he took out his pocket knife and cut off my horns.”

Waylon probably tweaked BRC harder in “Living Legends, Part 2”:
“Now Billy Ray keeps right on dancin’/ Outta tune and outta time/
He drives Bubbas up the wall/ And girls out of their minds.”

But I wouldn’t take that all to hard either. Waylon, was an entertainer. He said what he was feeling–or what he thought “worked”–in the moment. He might make fun of Billy Ray one moment, and have a laugh with him, another.
Heck, Waylon even feuded with Willie at times. They seemed to have been on the outs (unfortunately) at the time of Waylon’s death.

Well, they just featured him on NPR based off the celebrity he was able to create from his lie-filled Twitter thread, and in the same segment mispronounced my name, and didn’t even reach out for clarification, let alone equal time. I don;t think people appreciate just how deep these lies are going. All of these journalists are connected with each other on Twitter, and severe echo chambers have developed where they see the kind of behavior Shane Morris and others are participating in not as troublesome, but admirable, and are actively looking to boost their voice. This situation has gone way beyond “Old Town Road.” This is about a headlong attempt to discredit country music as a cultural institution. Lil Nas X is just the excuse.

I guess a clarification to my original intent would be to ask, do you think this is worth putting effort into?

I understand the chart of SCM so the answer is probably an automatic “YES”

But shane morris, his contemporaries, and the people who take them seriously are so far beyond saving. Looking at everything that has been tweeted, it is so ignorant, uniformed, hypocritical and unresponsive to new ideas. They aren’t going to see reason, all they see is what they want (“Billy Ray” as a “legend”, Lil Nas X as a country star, Billboard “racism”)

I agree Old Town Road should not be on the country charts (with or without Billy Ray Cyrus). I have talked to a few people at work who asked about it, and (respectfully) explained as such. But I’m really wondering if this is really a cause to rally behind; it may be a hopeless case just based on the extreme radicalism of the people on Lil Nas X’s side.

It may be a lost cause, but I feel an obligation to at least help set the record straight when it comes out outright infactual information being disseminated to the public. I don;t think people appreciate just how massive that Shane Morris Twitter thread was. It’s now received over 14,000 retweets, and from even more celebrities and credible journalists. I just read an article in The Guardian that called him a “country music writer,” which he never professed to be. I can’t sleep at night over this issue already. If I just sat back and let these assholes eradicate the contributions of African Americans like Charley Pride, I would probably kill myself.

And like I’ve been saying, this is just getting started. This has nothing to do with Lil Nas X or some Billboard chart, this is a headlong effort to destroy country music as a racist institution that needs to be eradicated from popular culture. This is not short of the biggest threat I have ever seen to country in the 11 years of operating this site. And if people think I’m devoting too much time or effort to it, tough shit. I’m just getting started. Because there’s nothing more important for a site called “Saving Country Music” to do.

Country Music can’t be destroyed as long as Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Sarah Shook, Cody Jinks, Miranda Lambert, Jamie Lin Wilson, Evan Felker and so so many others get up in the morning and do their thing. That’s where Country Music stands or falls, and it will stand. MILLIONS of us all over the world who love it and refuse to imagine our lives without it will make sure of that.

You do what you feel you have to do, but don’t let these flunkies get to you.

I guess this is the part of your angle here that I really don’t understand. I agree the song, like so many others pilloried here, isn’t country in any meaningful sense. I don’t think calling that out when you have a history of calling out all non country stuff on the country charts could ever be construed as racist. But that’s SCM story, not Billboard’s. They let all the other crap stay, minus the one exception you noted, until a song by a rapper came along. So can agree or disagree about their intentions, but regardless of how you feel about that, why should all of country music, and especially country music fans, be responsible for the actions taken by Billboard? It seems perfectly possible to conclude that the gatekeepers at Billboard could racist without concluding that country as a whole is racist, or that it’s fans are, or that SCM is. Why choose to personally take on their shit?

The reason that ALL of country music is being labeled as racist in this case, and the fact that it is Billboard that made the decision is a footnote is because of this headline from Rolling Stone: “Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ was a country hit. Then country changed its mind.” That is why that headline was so damaging, because it implicated the entire genre. It implicated me, it implicated you, it implicated everyone, and that’s where this whole cycle began, and 10 DAYS after the song had been removed by Billboard. Without that title, there is no controversy at all. Without that title, Billy Ray Cyrus never does a remix. Without that title, Shane Morris doesn’t become an internet celebrity by posting a viral Twitter thread that gets 14,000 retweets, including by major celebrities, that absolutely abolishes Charley Pride’s legacy in country music.

On Friday my name was used as a pejorative on NPR for a national audience, and I personally was implicated for Billboard removing the song off the charts, even though I didn’t address the matter whatsoever until days after it was removed. This fight landed on my doorstep. As far as I’m concerned, it was resolved when Billboard removed the song. But now myself and all the rest of us are having to deal with accusations of racism, and it all started with a misleading headline that I said at the time was irresponsible and dangerous, and now we’ve seen the results of this irresponsible journalism.

I hear you, it would just never occur to me to take that headline personally. From my perspective, there is space to think the song wasn’t country AND that it’s fair to question Billboard’s bias when this song and artist are treated differently than others who make similarly non-country music.

Imagine being so ignorant and racist that you say “There are no country artists guesting on the track like you had with Bebe Rexha’s collaboration with Florida Georgia Line’s “Meant To Be.” There appears to be absolutely no credible reason to include this song on a country chart aside from a bigoted stereotype bred from the fact that horses and cowboy hats are referenced in the lyrics.” and then when the song gets a feature from one of the biggest country artists of all time, you say “Out of all the mischaracertizations, malfeasance, hidden agendas, outright lies, and sheer ignorance behind Lil Nas X’s viral hit “Old Town Road” and its disputed place in the country genre, perhaps the most idiotic and out-of-touch development of them all has been this ludicrous notion that Billy Ray Cyrus is in any way relevant to country music in 2019.”

“and then when the song gets a feature from one of the biggest country artists of all time…

LOL! Billy Ray Cyrus’s last album literally sold less than 300 copies, even with streaming equivalents. Billy Ray Cyrus was a country music meme before we knew what memes were. Statistically, he’s not even close to being considered “one of the biggest country artists of all time.” This is more media misrepresentation poisoning the mind of the public. It’s Billy Ray Cyrus who needs Lil Nas X, not vice versa.

I can’t wait for Lil’ Shitty farting for 2 minutes with a banjo in the background calling it “country music” & the ACM will give him a nomination for best new male artist.
Let’s wait & see who will be the next opportunistic “country artist” working with Lil Nas X…

Billboard should end all genre charts & publish one big monogenre super-chart The Billboard 500.
A little chart-tweaking here & a little playlist manipulation there & everybody is happy.

Since nobody in Nashville cares about the history of country music anymore or what makes country music unique & call Sam Hunt, Maren Morris or Chris Lane country…time for Lil Nas Xs Opry debut or HoF membership. A little more shit on the current pile of shit.

Wouldn’t it be nice if there actually was a sub-genre of music that focused on rappers making country-flavored hiphop? Oh wait… it’s called hickhop and it already exists. so why is it so hard to put the correct label on all bro-country-flavored rappers? if people like that kind of music and want to look for more similar artists, being able to know the actual name of the genre would be a great starting point.

I’m not really mad about “Old Town Road.” It’s a fun meme song that people are enjoying. I get it. I’m not even made about the fact that it showed up on the country charts briefly. Lil Nas X gamed the system, and good for him. He’s doing ther American hustle, and doing it well. What I’m so mad about is how the media continues to distort this story and disseminate outright lies about country music’s history with African Americans, which does have some skeletons in the closet, but is not a bastion of racist white men it is being made out to be. If you truly want to battle the racism in country, be honest about it. Acting like all country music is racist simply exacerbates and emboldens the racists.

“And when all those dancing rapping bands have decayed into the dust, there’ll still be a show on Music Row for old outlaws like us.”

Or somewhere, maybe not Music Row circa 2019. To be honest, I feel more pity for Billy Ray than I do disdain. I can’t think of too many artists that have taken such a hard fall from the top in terms of relevance. Going from over 9 million copies of sold of his debut alone to less than 300 copies of his newest has to hurt. I don’t care if anybody likes “Achy Breaky Heart” or not, that’s just sad. And hell, at least “Achy Breaky Heart” was harmless country pop from when country pop was still grounded in the grand traditions of the genre.

Trig, just getting caught up on this story. I think Billboard was right to remove this song as it should not have been added in the first place. However, I think they’ve been wrong for allowing all the previous crap being sold to us as country music. Little Nas X is Black and unfortunately perception becomes reality, remove the Black guy equals racist. Billboard created this shit sandwich. With that being said, thank you for speaking truth on this subject and calling out the truths and falsehoods. Have you been asked to interview or comment on this subject from other outlets and if so where could we find them? Thank you and keep up the good fight.

I definitely agree there has been a “mission creep” aspect to the slow, methodical changing of the country charts to just a Nashville-based pop chart, and it’s a shame because myself and others have been raging against this for years, and this is going unrecognized in this argument. But there are two aspects to this discussion, one is musical, and one is technical. For example, I don’t think Maren Morris’s music is country at all, and shouldn’t be on the country charts. But from a technical standpoint, I understand why it is and would never lobby for her to be banished. She’s on a country label based in Nashville, and works within “country” channels. I’ll fight that fight on a musical level. Lil Nas X has none of these ties to the country industry whatsoever. The country chart is for the country industry. That’s why I did opposed Bebe Rexha being on the chart, because just like Lil Nas X, they are not part of the country industry or community whatsoever. They’re gaming the industry for attention that should be going to country artists.

An overlooked issue in my opinion is that MOST of the people who release pop/rap to country radio broke in with honest country songs. Maren Morris, Dustin Lynch, Dan + Shay, even Sam Hunt’s first singles all were (albeit bad) certifiably country or inarguable country pop.

I was with you until Sam Hunt. “Leave the Night On” was way more pop than country.

Sam Hunt getting away with calling himself Country is the reason this racism charge exists. If the gate keepers had turned him away, then I don’t think anyone would have an issue turning away Lil Nas X. But Sam Hunt was given a free pass (by the industry, at least), so it’s definitely hypocritical, and plausibly racist, when X is stopped at the gate.

I think we’re getting in the weeds here. For the record, nobody was calling Billboard racist aside from maybe some random no name people on social media until Rolling Stone wrote and article claiming racism was behind the move. For 10 days after Billboard removed the song, anyone and everyone could have said they believed the move was racially motivated, but there was nothing. But in the aftermath of the Rolling Stone article, there now might be upwards of 80 articles, and proclamations from huge celebrities on social media saying how country music is racist for removing Lil Nas X from the chart. And note, this claim isn’t being made primarily against Billboard, who was responsible for the move, it’s being made against country music in general. This is all a media construct fueled very specifically by Twitter echo chambers where the media resides.

And yes, once again the context of the artist matters. Sam Hunt worked for years in Nashville as a songwriter. He was on a country music label. The Billboard Hot Country Songs chart is an index published for the country music industry. Lil Nas X is not part of that industry. If he wanted to be country, he could have signed to a country label. But he didn’t. He signed to Columbia proper.

Piggy, as you said most of these people broke in with honest country songs before releasing pop/rap. And that was part of the problem with Billboard, the continued movement of the goalposts. Once the music became pop/rap lines should have been drawn. I don’t listen to today’s country garbage that’s being sold to me as country music but billboard did country music a disservice by playing into the stereotype of country music not being open to minorities.

This thread is certainly in the weeds (I appreciate and agree with your other, larger points and coverage here), but I think this particular position––consideration of the so-called “technical” context––is actually potentially harmful.

Context is not irrelevant, but placing such an emphasis on (requiring?) an artist’s willingness to work within the technical structures of a certain genre––e.g. qualifying for “country” on the basis of being “on a country label” or “working within ‘country’ channels”––seems like a bad idea, and particularly ripe for racial or other injustice because such criteria would place genre-qualification powers in the wrong gatekeepers’ hands.

A couple hypotheticals…
1. Suppose that Nashville “country” labels have minor racist elements, anywhere from A&R to their presidents (perhaps this is not likely, but it is certainly possible, and has been true in various genres and eras). Then a racial minority––say, for example, a latinx Maren Morris––might not have the same access to the “technical” qualifications of country, and would thus be unjustly excluded from country charts because the power of qualifying as “country” fell in part to (racist) gatekeepers who had nothing to do with how country the artist’s actual music was.
2. Or assume, in a more likely scenario, that some of country music’s fanbase is racist (sad but true) and that this fact is reflected to some extent in sales & streaming (and thus reflected in revenue). Then a “country” record label’s decision to vouch for that person as “country” (by signing that person to their “country label”), or a “country channel”s decision to allow this person access to that channel, might be racially unjust by virtue of having been (financially) influenced by the racism of some of country’s fanbase. Again, on this scenario, a person could be unjustly excluded from a genre’s charting simply because of a genre’s racism, and not solely because of the artist’s musical claim to that genre.

I know that you can throw Kane Brown and Jimmie Allen at an un-nuanced version of this argument––and without a doubt, racial minorities can in fact find success in country music today, and within the structures of country music. And I’m not necessarily claiming that either of the above two hypotheticals are currently true of country music.
But, as I hope my hypotheticals show, genre-qualification on the basis of what you called the “technical” standpoint is vulnerable to potential (racial or other) injustices in ways that genre-qualification based solely on the “musical” standpoint avoids. For that reason, I say let’s keep the focus on the music itself in this conversation.

I think you’ve made an important point. Heck, just look at who the “country” labels are propping up these days as proof that the “technical” angle is the wrong way to approach the issue.
I’m mad at Billboard, too, but not because they took this non-country song off the country chart. I’m pissed at all the non-country songs they’ve allowed on their country chart over the last 20+ years. And that ties into what the labels are doing.
I would love it if somebody went viral for making actual country music outside of the trashville machine.

Your posts on this issue have been exceptionally well written and very insightful.
I saw an article on Buzzfeed this morning which reveals that Lil Nas X used to be a “tweetdecker”, until his account was banned by Twitter for violating their spam rules. The explanation of tweetdecking is a bit complicated, but the most basic definition via Urban Dictionary is “Stealing tweets and tweeting them yourself to a large amount of people”.
He’s demonstrated a pattern of trying to achieve internet fame through deception and dishonesty.

A lot of your arguments feel like implicit ‘either/or’ statements, which is why I disagree with them in spirit. It isn’t a choice between meme or song, country or rap. It is a country rap song that also happens to be meme.

It’s a piece of music that occupies multiple places, and it doesn’t matter if it’s by design. Do you think country-stars are not tailoring their songs and their image for radio?

“Do you think country-stars are not tailoring their songs and their image for radio?”

Of course they are.

I agree that “Old Town Road” does inhabit an unusual space between meme and song, and country and hip-hop. I also respect Lil Nas X to ply his creativity however he chooses. But genre charts, country or hip-hop, should be dedicated to artists who dedicate their music to that specific art form. Lil Nas X isn’t being ignored by Billboard. He’s all over the charts. He’s benefited more by being kicked off the country chart than he did being on it. There are charts for songs that straddle lines and are just as much social media as music. But the genre specific charts are not that place. These charts and the artists represented by them have much more to loose than Lil Nas X has to gain by being on them. This isn’t about disrespecting Lil Nas X’s efforts, it’s about respecting the efforts of all the other artists being overshadowed by something like “Old Town Road.”

“There are charts for songs that straddle lines and are just as much social media as music. But the genre specific charts are not that place.”

If that was ever true (which I doubt, given how genres oftentimes mutate and evolve by borrowing from one another) then it’s not true now. Rock, Latin, Dance…. look at any of these charts and it’s hard to see the virtue of genre purity being upheld. Multiple billboard charts have merged R&B and Hip-hop — and the pure Hip-hop and pure R&B charts both have Drake!

I understand why you specifically would be against Lil Nas X’s inclusion, but I think Billboard has been lax with genre boundaries for a very long time. That this is the straw that broke the camel’s back is bizarre, and overlooks the precedent they themselves have set.

Saving Country Music is not an autocracy. I believe everyone’s opinion matters and host a forum for everyone to voice their viewpoints. I believe healthy dialogue is how problems get solved, and avoided. The stifling of opinion and prevalence of Twitter echo chambers where entertainment media reside is at the very heart of this issue. I want to see people with dissenting viewpoint, because the only bad opinion is one set in stone.

Lil Nas X has turned into nothing but a country music troll. He probably didn’t initially intend to wreak havoc on country music, but after the usual over exaggerated leftist media backlash, a light bulb has gone off. He now has a purpose, and that purpose will be to craft a music style that puts drugs/gangs/trap music into country music. If it’s not him, it will be someone else. It’s a tumultuous time for country music, hopefully this is recognized and stopped now.

Also, that has to be one of the fastest remixes ever, it’s so obvious what the agenda is.

Trigger, I’m glad I can get more of an accurate background to this story with information, not just people looking into this as some black vs white issue. 90% of the people posting on Twitter A) after the song was pulled and B) after Billy Ray Cyrus got his name involved should seek other forums (like SCM) before they post their rants.

It just amazes me how low Billy Ray will sink to try to get his name in the news. If you go back other than Achy Breaky his first few albums had some good music. I still listen to the album Storm in the Heartland. One Last Thrill was a great song.

I wish instead of writing articles about this nonsense people would instead write about the greatness of Joseph Huber. Title the articles the same if you will but promote the good and forget about the bad.

I saw on another website where someone lamented that the only Kane Brown and Darius Rucker and Lil Nas X among black artists had ever topped the Billboard Country Singles and/or Country Albums chart totally forgetting about Charley Pride and his 29 #1 singles and multiple #1 albums.

What brings me comfort is that all the shit you guys spew is meaningless.
I want you guys all to realize that lil nas has the most popular song in the states right now and that the majority of the world recognizes it as country.
Just wanted you guys to know that you make a tiny minority and of opinion.
Just funny to me how easy it was for lil nas to make such a popular country song without even trying or having any background in country…. he must be much more talented then some of the guys in the industry right now lmfao.
At the end of the day when months go by everyone will remember this song as the funny country song that everyone liked and your angry, racist and idiotic comments will be forgotten and gone.
Methinks that some of you are upset that this young rapper/producer rose to fame on your favourite platform, but does not fit your view of how a country artist should look like.
To that I conclude… enjoy the last few years of trump you have left you sad hateful ignorant exuses for human beings.

Just had to add very late to this thread. CBS Morning news Wednesday, April 10 reported on this issue with the same uneducated bias as the rest of those who believe the exclusion was racist. The comments were, “It sounds like a country song, my kids love it!”. They interviewed someone from Rolling Stone about this.

I am an agriculture teacher/FFA Advisor, and this issue is very much associated with the issue of the disconnect between rural and urban. The general public does not understand where their food comes from, the importance of animal agriculture and that animal welfare is our utmost concern when raising livestock for their purpose, etc. As an ag teacher, “AGvocasy”, or our term for education for the general public in learning about what truly happens at the farm and why we all need that knowledge and it’s associated rural values, is a crucial component in bridging that gap and it’s something we constantly have to promote.

Trigger is dead spot on about this issue; it’s not about race—it’s about sincerely wanting to learn and be a part of the country community. You don’t have to be from a rural area; City citizens can be in that community as long as they respect rural values and the history of country music. If Little Nas X wants to continue to make these type of songs for the country charts, but also makes a concerted effort to learn about the history of country music and become part of the country community, then we will no longer be talking about whether he belongs on the country charts. We will just lament that it does not sound like traditional country music, just like how we feel about EDM and pop in today!s country music.

When CBS News says, “It sounds like country music”, then you know this is really about the tremendous disconnect between urban and rural.

Saving country music, is definitely something you’re not going to do you guys are assholes I thought you were cool but you’re bashing Billy Ray Cyrus instead of being fickle and force-fed and jumping on the hatred bandwagon why don’t you do your damn research listen to his back catalogue again he’s done more for country music than you realize you idiots!!!!! Learn to think for yourselves I bet you don’t listen to half the music that comes out you just an opinion opinionated stupid online blog that likes to bash people get a life!!!!!

Saving country music, is definitely something you’re not going to do you guys are a**holes I thought you were cool but you’re bashing Billy Ray Cyrus instead of being fickle and force-fed and jumping on the hatred bandwagon why don’t you do your damn research listen to his back catalogue again he’s done more for country music than you realize you idiots!!!!! Learn to think for yourselves I bet you don’t listen to half the music that comes out you just an opinion opinionated stupid online blog that likes to bash people get a life!!!!!

Yeah I agree with Martian, this website really sucks, it sounds like theyrre all butt hurt because Billy Ray Cyrus has reached the top of the charts again and how long has this rap country thing been going on, this is not the first time I say kudos to Billy Ray and what goes around comes around, as many times as he was banished from the charts with some great songs, these people that run this site need to do their damn research and go back and listen to his music cuz he has some great stuff that went under the radar and as far as him selling 300 and 700 copies I find that hard to believe, you don’t chart number 49 on the charts and only sell 700 copies…again all you people bashing these guys, get a life at least they’ve done something grandios… Anybody ever hear Trail of Tears by Billy Ray Cyrus? Anybody ever hear of Storm in the Heartland by Billy Ray Cyrus? Anybody ever hear of It won’t be the last by Billy Ray Cyrus? This dude has a back catalogue that would blow your mind and for him to be back on top of the charts right now is just a flipping of the finger to the industry and I love it!!!!!!!!!

And for your damn info Billy Ray Cyrus didn’t seek Out Lil Nas X, it was the other way around Lil Nas X seek Out Billy Ray because he is a fan because he grew up with Hannah Montana and that show and also Billy Ray Cyrus is relevant right now in country music and always will be relevant and country music but guess what this website saving country music won’t stay relevant cuz it sucks!!!!

I understand why people are upset with OTR, and I agree that it isn’t a country song. However, why are you so upset with Billy Ray Cyrus? It seems that you have only negative things to say about the guy. You are very quick to judge his Achy Breaky 2 and Old Town Road but I bet you’ve never listened to his albums Storm in the Heartland, Trail of Tears, Shot Full of Love, Change my Mind, and Thin Line, which are all really good!! Honestly, listen to his debut album without ABH and you will see why it sold over 9 million copies. Billy Ray was one of the faces of country music in the 90s along Garth, Shania, Alan, and others, and it is extremely biased of you to say he is irrelevant. Also, I find it hard to believe that Thin Line debuted at 49 on the charts with only 700 copies sold. As for Set the Record Straight, it makes sense that that album sold very little because every single song on that album was already on another one of his albums. I find that while criticizing Old Town Road for being on the country charts, which I 100% agree with, your hate for Billy Ray influences your decision too much. I think you should listen to some of Billy Ray’s stuff that I listed above. You might surprise yourself!

The numbers for Billy Ray Cyrus don’t lie. Country music doesn’t care about him. That doesn’t mean he didn’t have some good moments in his career because he did, but he because a caricature of himself and a country music meme for two decades. His new “weed nug” song and video proves why.

Yeah I did see that new video for Ages in my Pocket. I must say, for me being a fan of his, it was awful. Trigger, I was actually agreeing with you that he does stupid things that ruin his reputation in the Long run for some short term attention, for example ABH, ABH 2, OTR, saying he was changing his name to Cyrus… That is all dumb stuff. The main point I was making is that his dumb publicity stunts shouldn’t define his whole catalog of music, which it does unfortunately. Because he definitely has good songs. Thank you for replying Trigger, I’m a big fan of your site!

Can we please pull our heads out of our butts and quit arguing about this?!? (I’m referring to the media, not the author of the article or the intelligent readers on this site). Lil Nas X doesn’t belong in country any more than Billy Ray Cyrus belongs in rap (or country, but that’s a different argument). End of story. It is not racist to say his song ain’t country, it’s simply a fact. I don’t think this country understands what racism is anymore. I for one wish everyone would shut up and focus on the music, good or bad, and not an agenda. Thanks for getting me all worked up, now I’m going to go crack a beer and listen to Bocephus.